Title: Do You Remember
Author: Bill Twomey
Publisher: Your Nabe
Date: 12/16/09
I was browsing through the New York section at Barnes and Noble when I noticed another book about Yankee Stadium. Since I was once a tour guide there, it immediately caught my attention. What is interesting about this book is that it's not predominantly about the Yankees. It's about the stadium and has a variety of area photographs that are rarely, if ever, seen.
The 128-page book is simply titled Yankee Stadium 1923-2008 and is a new release from Arcadia Publishing as part of their Images of America series. Written by Gary Hermalyn and Anthony C. Greene of the Bronx County Historical Society, the book contains about 170 images, many of which will bring back memories for Yankee fans and Bronx aficionados.
The authors managed to locate some strong photographs of the area prior to and during construction of the stadium. They also found images of the Harlem River waterfront and surrounding area. This would include the Bronx House of Detention, the Concourse Plaza Hotel, the Bronx County Courthouse, the Earl Theatre and even the Polo Grounds and McCombs Dam Bridge. History buffs will enjoy the shots of the Jerome Park Racetrack.
Although the book is about the stadium rather than the baseball team, there are numerous great photos of some of the outstanding men in pinstripes. The front cover carries a great photo of Yogi Berra and Allie Reynolds reading the paper, "Life in the Bronx." Inside can be found a number of images of some all-time greats such as Babe Ruth as well as the early owners, Jacob Ruppert and Cap Huston. Miller Huggins, who managed the team from 1918 to 1929 and who was the first person honored in Monument Park, is shown a couple of times. There is a nice composite of the 1923 team who took home the Yankee's first World Series pennant. Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse, gets a full page as does Derek Jeter. Some other greats shown in this work are the unforgettable Casey Stengel, Whitey Ford, Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Tony Lazzeri, Billy Martin, Elston Howard, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Hector Lopez and others.
That's only a small part of the book, however, as sufficient space is reserved for the various other activities held at the stadium including nice shots of the football Giants. Who can forget the Max Schmeling - Joe Louis bout of 1936 or "Sugar Ray" Robinson's TKO of Steve Belloise in 1949. There's also a nice shot of Rocky Graziano and Ezzard Charles as well as one of Ali and Ken Norton from 1976.
No book can have every photo you'd love to see but this pictorial shouldn't disappoint you. There's enough meat in it to merit the $21.99 price tag. Yankee Stadium 1923-2008 can be found in book stores throughout the metropolitan area. I found it at the Barnes and Noble in Bay Plaza but know that it's available wherever books are sold. Look it over.
Title: Bronx historians honor baseball's cathedral
Author: Daniel Beekman
Publisher: Your Nabe
Date: 7/16/09
There are Yankee fans and then there are Bronx Yankee fans. The former worship the Bombers from afar, cloak the ball club in myth and visit the ballpark on vacation. The latter scream at the Bombers from the bleachers, wear pinstripes to work and pass the ballpark daily.
Likewise, there are Yankee Stadium books. A score have hit the shelves recently. And then there are Bronx Yankee Stadium books. Yankee Stadium 1923-2008 is the latter, an intimate look at baseball's cathedral and the borough the Bombers call home. Penned by Bronx County Historical Society executive director Gary Hermalyn and Fordham University graduate Anthony Greene, it chronicles the ascension, decline and rebirth of Yankee Stadium and the Bronx side by side.
The book is packed with rare illustrations - the Union Baseball Club of Morrisania in 1867 - photos - Major League Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and Bronx Democratic boss Edward Flynn in 1923 - and programs - Fordham football versus NYU in 1939.
More than other Yankee Stadium books, this one covers the venue's legendary football brawls and boxing bouts in detail. In 1958, Yankee Stadium played host to "The Greatest Game Ever," a hardscrabble National Football League contest. The New York Giants lost 28-17 to the Baltimore Colts but won millions of fans in the Bronx. In 1957, "Sugar" Ray Robinson lost his middleweight belt to Carmen Basilio at Yankee Stadium. The fight lasted 15 rounds. Joe Louis and Nazi-backed Max Schmeling met twice at Yankee Stadium, in 1936 and 1938.
One photo in particular speaks to the book's Bronx bent. Circa 1960, a dozen middle-aged Bronx women posed in fur coats and hats to promote cancer awareness. Yankee Stadium served as the backdrop.
"So many books treat Yankee Stadium as if it was on an island," Greene said. "We wanted to show Yankee Stadium as part of the downtown Bronx."
When owner Jacob Ruppert commissioned Yankee Stadium, he hoped it would match the emerging grandeur of the Bronx - the Grand Concourse, the original borough courthouse, Macombs Dam Park and the Third Avenue el. The stadium and the Concourse Plaza Hotel opened together in 1923.
"There was a positive relationship between the stadium and the Bronx until the 1960s," Greene said. "The stadium was part of a culture-sports-government corridor."
Greene, who worked at the Bronx County Historical Society for some time and is a part-time Yankee Stadium tour guide, thinks the new Yankee Stadium will anchor a vibrant downtown Bronx again. Born in Staten Island, Greene spent his childhood in Pennsylvania and is a lifelong Bombers fan. He went wild when Hideki Matsui nailed a leadoff home run in 2005. Greene and Hermalyn will sign copies of the book - due out on Monday, July 20 - at the Queens Historical Society on Sunday, July 26 at 2:30 p.m.
